By Anita Baffoni, WPRO News
Governor Gina Raimondo holds a rally at Cranston High School East in support of her proposal to give two years of free tuition to Rhode Island’s public colleges
“College is not easy. You have to study, it’s hard. The hardest part shouldn’t be paying for it,” Raimondo said to an auditorium filled with junior and senior students this morning. “Because all the good jobs require something past high school, we want to make sure you have a chance to get those good jobs.”
The plan— called the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship— would cost roughly $30 million per year. It will be offered to residents in good academic standing two years of free tuition at the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.
The students at the rally cheered along as she discussed details of the proposal.
“We talk all the time what your future is going to be and how you can get there. It sounds like you have a ticket, so take advantage of the ticket, do what you need to do so you can take care of us when we are old,” Cranston East Principal Sean Kelly said.
Rhode Island and Cranston leaders were in attendance, however Mayor Allan Fung was not. Fung is in Washington D.C for President Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Regardless, he makes a statement on the proposal and how it “raises fiscal concerns.”
“The governor’s taxpayer funded tuition proposal, while noble in cause, is just another promise that the state may not be in position to make right now. The state is starting this year with a more than $100 million structural deficit,” Fung said. “The state has told pensioners we can’t afford their COLAs. The state has told truckers that there is no other way to repair our roads than to institute tolls. We have moral obligations to keep our promises beyond a political season. And I’m concerned that this might be another one that comes up short.”
Raimondo put the proposal in her fiscal 2018 budget that will be presented to the legislature on Thursday who will have to approve or deny it in order to move forward.
